Songs of the Decade: “All My Friends” (2007)

Photo courtesy of myspace.com/lcdsoundsystem

Sitting on the beach a couple of years ago, I jammed my iPod into some lousy, fuzzed-out mp3 speakers hoping that I could inject some good music into a lazy afternoon. Recently introduced to LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends” myself, I decided that I’d take that time to share with my friends the sheer brilliance: a seven-and-a-half-minute song about nostalgic hindsight, chockfull of  four-line wisdoms, music allusions and one terribly unforgettable rhetorical question. But I guess it was too much to take in that spring day. ”What is this?” someone remarked. “It’s just the same shit over and over again.”

We never made it past the piano intro.

I’ve heard all kinds of criticism leveled against LCD Soundsystem’s ”All My Friends.” Hopelessly repetitive. Boring. Unremarkable. On paper it should be just that. The song depends on the same muddled, untidy piano loop,  is paced by breakneck percussion that has no business lasting seven minutes and lacks any coherent chorus.

But the song was never meant to be judged on its individual components. Melded together, the pieces become a thing of beauty.  The looped piano and drums form the springboard for lead singer James Murphy to launch into a lyrical epic which tells of the loss of youth and reveals the various epiphanies of growing up. Singing with the perspective of hindsight, Murphy tells of poor decisions and their altering consequences. He laments of the responsibilities that come with weathered hands and wrinkled faces. He recounts lost, then found, then lost again relationships.

And as Murphy continues to spill his guts, the song seems to mature and develop, building upon the same piano and drum foundation by the continued adding of musical elements. First it’s the bass line, then a cheerful guitar contribution and then the keyboards. All of these additional layers elevates the song, rising it to a dramatic crescendo in which the lead singer wails over and over again, “Where are your friends tonight?”It’s a question that haunts us all; one  that Murphy and his band were able to beautifully encapsulate in a single song. Who will be there as we move forward with our lives?

-Ryan

LCD Soundsystem- All My Friends (download)